ArmInfo. Armenia has entered the substantive phase of construction of a new nuclear power plant, Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said on July 3 during the conference "Armenia-Eastern Partnership-EU: Challenges and Opportunities".
According to Grigoryan, Armenia has achieved a certain diversification in the security sphere, but in the economic sphere, much remains to be done. In certain cases, he pointed out, the country's authorities are trying to resolve issues in the long term, for example, in the issue of building a new nuclear power plant.
In 2024, the implementation of a program to extend the life of the N2 power unit until 2036 will begin at the Armenian NPP. 20.2 billion drams will be allocated for these purposes. In parallel, a new nuclear power unit must be built in the country by the specified date. The question is the power of this unit, which must be combined with the country's energy system. Previously, the United States offered Yerevan its option for the construction of small modular reactors, as stated by Maria Longhi, coordinator of American government assistance programs. In turn, the Russian Federation proposed its project for a power unit with a capacity of 1200 MW, but, as the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of the Republic of Armenia Gnel Sanosyan previously pointed out, the construction of a unit of such capacity is fraught with problems, since the capacity of the entire energy system of Armenia is still the same 1200 MW.
Early in 2024, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated in the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee that, without knowing professional nuances, from a political perspective he considers the option of building small modular nuclear reactors in Armenia interesting.
